Gumpert Tornante 700 HP Supercar Coming in 2012

The German company that brought us the extreme Apollo hypercar teamed up with Italian coachbuilder Touring Superleggera to create the Tornante, a more refined, GT-style version of the Apollo, that will go on sale in 2012.

The design and body engineering are the work of Touring Superleggera, a company which is also known for the Bentley Continental Flying Star shooting-brake. The 2-seater Tornante builds on the style of the Apollo, yet its appearance is less edgy and more luxurious.

Details that underline its Gumpert DNA, such as the huge frontal and lateral air intakes have been reshaped in a more pleasant way for the eye, while the racing-style cabin, the high-sitting rear-view mirrors and the gull-wing doors have been retained. At the rear, the Apollo's huge wing gave way to an elegant extension of the cabin, whose main attraction is the split rear window.

Design refinement aside, Touring Superleggera also worked on improving passenger and luggage space, comfort, access and ventilation, and noise levels.

Gumpert's engineers used an Apollo-derived space frame chassis with the same central engine layout for the Tornante. Thanks to various weight saving measures, the Tornante tips the scales at only 1,300 kg (2,866 lb), which means its should be only marginally slower than its more extreme sibling.

It has the same Audi-sourced 4.2-liter V8 biturbo engine that has been completely reworked by Gumpert engineers, producing 700 ponies. Mated to an automatic six-speed gearbox that changes gears faster than the blink of an eye (40 milliseconds), the unit produces a hefty 900 Nm of torque (663.7 lb-ft) at 4,000 rpm. Performance figures have not yet been revealed, with Gumpert only saying that the car can reach speeds of over 300 km/h (186 mph).